Matt Marton USA Today Sports
Becky Hammon finally got a shot as head coach and she didn’t disappoint, winning the WNBA Coach of the Year in her first season with the Aces.
Becky Hammon’s first season at the helm of the Las Vegas Aces went smoothly. They finished 26-10, the second-highest win percentage in franchise history, and boasted the best attacking in the league by a large margin and secured the top seed in the playoffs. They’ve already advanced past the Washington Mystics and are now ready to match the Seattle Storm for a chance to move to the WNBA Finals.
With the league’s post-season awards starting to emerge, it comes as no surprise that Hammon was honored as the WNBA’s Coach of the Year this season.
Becky Hammon transformed the Las Vegas Ace in her campaign for the WNBA Coach of the Year
The ace has boasted a win percentage of 0.716 over the past three seasons, finishing twice with the best record in the Western Conference. But their heavy inside approach and double tower seems to have them rocking the post-season. They won a title in the 2020 season that was cut short by the pandemic, but were knocked out in the second round of playoffs twice as well.
In replacing former coach Bill Laimbere, Hammon updated the offense, reduced the spin size and moved more shot attempts out of the arc. The Aces averaged 13.5 attempts from just 3 points per game in 2021, the last time they were in the league. They nearly doubled that number this season, trying 26.4 and notching a top 36.1 percent in the league.
Hammon’s revamped offense laid the foundation for the career years of Kelsey Bloom and Jackie Young and it’s possible that she’s not the only ace to receive a post-season award. A’ja Wilson is one of the top contenders for both Player of the Year and Best Defensive Player, and both Plum and Young have a strong case for the best.
The ace will start the second round series against Storm at home, Sunday, August 28 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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